Season 8’s Dr. Travis Stork on How The Bachelor Changed His Life — Exclusive

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When we’re in the midst of watching the sweeping love stories of The Bachelor and Bachelorette, it’s easy to forget that these are people with real lives and careers outside of reality TV. For instance, it was newsworthy when Bachelorette Andi Dorfman recently resigned from her post as an assistant district attorney in Georgia. But for Bachelor Season 8 star Dr. Travis Stork, things have only heated up for his medicine career post-show.

These days, the handsome physician may not be — like some of his fellow Bachelor Nation alums — competing on Bachelor in Paradise or attending cast mixers, but he is bringing his medical expertise to millions of Americans daily on the talk show, The Doctors. Wetpaint Entertainment caught up with Travis recently while he was promoting his breakfast initiative with Kellogg's, and we got him to open up a little more about his life eight years after the final rose...

Wetpaint Entertainment: For years people said that breakfast was the most important meal of the day, but that seems to have waned in recent years. Does this still hold?

Dr. Travis Stork: You’re going to hear all kinds of things. But if you look at all the research and data, most evidence supports the fact that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. There are studies out there that link not eating breakfast to heart disease and being overweight.

What’s the best thing to eat for breakfast? Are there any foods that get a bad rap?

I’m a big fan of whole grains, and people will throw carbohydrates under the bus. With whole grains, that’s the fuel that our brains use to think, do well in school, do well in work. I also believe in having protein for breakfast. Good, old fashioned cereal can be a great option for both.

You’ve managed to turn your career into something totally unassociated with The Bachelor. Do you have any tips for other franchise alums looking to do the same thing?

Don’t look to do anything, just be yourself. I was in a physician before and a physician after. To be quite frank, it just happened. The most important thing in life is to have a passion and my passion has always been health, before and after my appearance. Now I just use it as a voice and a platform to promote healthy ways of living.

Bachelor Nation is known for being a pretty tight community. Do you have a relationship with any other alumni?

You know what, I don’t. I live close to Trista Sutter in the Colorado Mountains, so occasionally I’ll run into her. I personally live my life with my friends that I’ve always had. At the end of the day, it didn’t change who I hang out with.

Did you ever have plans before the show to bring your expertise to TV?

Zero percent consideration of it. I think doctors are now realizing now, with social media and the internet, that we have to jump on board and use media to spread messages of health. But when I trained, you would never in a million years think there would be a show like The Doctors on TV.

Speaking of social media, that’s been a big part of The Bachelor in recent years. Have you watched the show recently, and do you see a change?

I haven’t — it’s not because I wouldn’t, it’s just that timing-wise it’s difficult. I think that the one thing thing that has changed the most for me, whether it be health or celebrity, is the instantaneousness of social media. Sometimes people believe the minute it’s posted on a social media source, that that makes it a truth. That presents unique challenges no matter what you’re doing.

Are you surprised that Travis doesn’t keep in touch with any other Bachelor Nation folk? Do you watch The Doctors? Share your thoughts in the comments below.